This invention relates to a pickup tool for use manually by an operator in picking up litter, garbage and other materials from the ground without bending.
Various designs of litter picking tools are provided and have been proposed in the patent literature. In many cases the device includes a handle with a manually graspable portion at the upper end of the handle and a pair of tongs at the lower end of the handle one of which is pivotally mounted on the handle and the other which is generally fixed with a pivotal portion being actuable by a lever or other system which is pulled manually at the upper end. However in many cases the operation is awkward and may require two hands. In other cases the design is poor and does not lend itself to effective and inexpensive manufacture. In most cases the grasping elements forming the tongs at the lower end simply comprises a pair of blades which come together at a pinch line at an edge at the end of the blade. Devices of this type are suitable for picking up only litter in the form of paper or fabric and cannot be used for other materials of a more solid nature.
In addition the device cannot in any way be modified to pickup other types of materials which require a scoop or receptacle to collect the material effectively.